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Tartan Details - Northumberland

The information held within The Scottish Register of Tartans for the "Northumberland" tartan is shown below.

STA ref:

6765

STWR ref:

2444

Designer:

Unknown

Tartan date:

Not Specified

Registration date:

This tartan was recorded prior to the launch of The Scottish Register of Tartans.

Category:

District

Restrictions:

Registration notes:

The Northumberland tartan is also known as the Border or Shepherd Plaid. It is closely linked to the Percy family (Dukes of Northumberland), forming the official dress of their piper. Originally worn by shepherds tending their flocks in the Border area, the check is now the Shepherd family tartan. Textile historians have dated a fragment of the pattern, discovered in a bottle near Falkirk, to 270 A.D., suggesting that the pattern was known as far back as Roman times. It would have originally been woven using un-dyed sheep's fleece. Vegetable dyes were later used to create similar checks in natural shades of greens and browns. It is believed that Sir Walter Scott wore a pair of checked trousers made from the Northumberland tartan in London, making checks trendy.

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Please note

Where tartans were recorded before the establishment of the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) on 5 February 2009, the original Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) and the Scottish Tartans World Register (STWR) reference numbers have been retained. The new SRT reference number can be found in the address box on your browser (url).

The registration criteria now applied by the Register conforms to the Scottish Register of Tartans Act 2008. These criteria are different to those previously applied by either the STA or the STWR. You may wish to refer to the STA website for further information.